Pining for the City of God

Rome was sacked. Augustine's congregation in Hippo was confused and saddened. Augustine decided to preach on the Psalms to encourage his flock by pointing that only one city was eternal and that was the City of God. This series of sermons became the foundation of Augustine's magnus opus, The City of God. The premise was that throughout history there has been two cities represented by Babylon and Jerusalem. Babylon was the city of the people who reject God and His government. The heavenly Jerusalem was the city of God. The citizens of these two cities might be hard to distinguish at times, but in the last days their citizenship will become clear. The following quote was from one of these sermons. It explained how we, the Church, maintain and manifest our citizenship in the present age.

Now let us hear, brothers, let us hear and sing; let us pine for the City where we are citizens.... By pining we are already there; we have already cast our hope, like an anchor, on that coast. I sing of somewhere else, not of here: for I sing with my heart, not my flesh. The citizens of Babylon hear the sound of the flesh, the Founder of Jerusalem hears the tune of our heart. (Augustine as quoted by Peter Brown, p. 314, Augustine of Hippo

The author of Hebrews wrote that even before Jerusalem was an earthly city, Abraham sought the eternal city --the city of promise--during his earthly stay on earth.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10, ESV)

After the role call of faith in chapter 11 of Hebrews, the author of Hebrews point out that all these heroes of the faith were seeking a heavenly city.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13-16, ESV)

Finally, at the end of Hebrews, we are to understand that this material world around us is not real, but we should seek the new Jerusalem which is permanent.

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. (Hebrews 13:14, ESV)